Monday, March 31, 2014

Meant to get this up a little earlier today. But a release from the county Mayor's Office:

This weekend, Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett received the
Adjutant General’s Distinguished Patriot Medal from Tennessee Adjutant General
Max Haston.

Burchett, left, with Gen. Haston

“It is an honor to receive this award as Mayor of Knox
County and on behalf of the veterans in our community,” Mayor Burchett said.
“But the truth is that all I’ve done is what I’ve been taught was the right
thing to do. It is our men and women in uniform who have gone above and beyond
by volunteering to serve in our Armed Forces.”

The medal is presented to any member of the U.S. Armed Forces,
Tennessee National Guard or any civilian who “boldly distinguishes himself by a
significant patriotic act or contribution to State or Nation which serves to
promote patriotism and preservation of either State or National heritage,”
according to the official description of the medal.

The medal citation, which recognizes Mayor Burchett “for the
highest distinguished service during the period of 1 September 2010 through 13
February 2014,” specifically references the mayor’s continued support of the
County’s Veteran Service office and its outreach efforts, as well as the
County’s commitment to offer hiring preference to military veterans.

“He is an ardent supporter to the Tennessee National
Guard and has spent countless hours as an ambassador for our military
veterans,” the citation states.

Knox County Criminal Court
candidate Mike Hammond says if elected he will focus on strengthening the
collections unit in the department. He says – quoting a Paywall Paper report –
that there is some $158 million in uncollected court costs and fines (although
no one really knows how far back that goes).

“Unpaid court costs and fines are like a bad loan to the people of Knox County,” Hammond
said.“The ones who are benefiting are
the scofflaws.The taxpayers who pay the
bills are the responsible taxpayers.”

Is it ironic or hypocritical that
Superintendent Jim McIntyre would tell the Knox County Commission during its
March work session that if members had a problem with something the school
system does, then go ahead and call him first?

“If you have questions about how we do our
business . . .how we account for things
. . .please give me a call. I think you
have my phone numbers,” he said. “Rather than going straight to an audit
committee and bringing some fairly salacious allegations, it would be a nice
professional courtesy if myself or the school board heard from county
commissioners that had concerns or issues to bring to the floor.”

He also later said: “If you have questions . .
.certainly would appreciate a call to
me.”

Well, over the years, he’s had plenty of
problems with reporters, particularly those who aren’t afraid to ask him tough
questions, and report on the findings. He doesn’t like it.

To him it’s “divisive” or it’s just not news.

When he disagrees with a tweet, a blog post or a
news report, McIntyre doesn’t call the reporter. He goes over their heads.

Funny. That’s just what he told commissioners NOT
do if they have a problem. Remember? “Professional courtesy.”

Sensitive Superintendent Jim McIntyre has proposed a $433.7
million (general fund) budget for the upcoming fiscal year that includes pay
raises for teachers, according to a memo he sent to Knox County School Board
members.

He’s expected to discuss the proposed spending plan, which
will eventually get rubber stamped by the board, later this week.

The budget represents a $13.8 million increase from the
current budget, which actually adds up to a 3.3 percent bump, and “does not
contemplate major new instructional initiatives due to fiscal restraints,” Jim
noted.

He also said the budget “focuses on sustaining our current educational
initiatives, with additional resources primarily targeted toward two
priorities: teacher compensation and our new Career Magnet Academy.”

He said the school system ranks 35th in the state
in terms of our average teacher pay, and “in order to retain our outstanding
teachers and recruit the next generation of exemplary educators, we must insure
that we offer a more competitive and professional level of compensation for our
teachers.”

That means, he said, the budget includes an additional $3.3
million over expected revenue estimates to provide 3 percent salary increases
for teachers.

“If funds are only appropriated for our budget at the level
of anticipated revenues, the raise for teachers would only be 1.7% of total
salary, consistent with the proposal in the Governor’s budget,” he added, leaving me to wonder if he really only requested a 1.3 percent increase.

Jim also said the budget “is not without some pain points.”

For example, he wants to cut 12 custodial positions through
attrition, which means if no one quits or retires, then he hasn’t cut any
positions. The budget “also proposes the elimination of several hundred
thousand dollars from our already lean central office budgets.”

He doesn’t actually say what he would cut in central office,
other than some mumbo-jumbo about how “some of those resources represent small
subject-specific dollar allocations to schools, but central office positions
will also be carefully examined and may be considered.”

He also said that some after-school tutoring will be
reduced, and “the Project GRAD program will experience about a 15% cut to the
resources that support this important partnership. Finally, the assistant principal
positions at Austin-East and Fulton which have been at a 255 day contract since
reconstitution was instituted six years ago, will revert back to a 221 day
contract.”

After the BOE approves the budget, it will go to Knox County
Mayor Tim Burchett’s office, so he can incorporate it into his proposed spending
plan. Then it goes to the County Commission for final approval.

One thing to note is that some school board members during
the so-called “teacher revolt” said they wanted to increase teacher salary by 5
percent. Slim Jim proposed a smaller number, which is probably more reasonable due to fiscal
constraints.

It could get interesting if it does get bumped up to five,
since that means Burchett – who has long said he supports teacher pay raises –
would have to come up with the money or say ‘no.’(We all know how cheap that guy is. Heh.)

We’ll see. We have a lot of time. The budgets don’t need to
be approved until June 30, the end of the current fiscal year.

Saturday, March 29, 2014

As noted earlier this week - right smack here - Knox County Commissioner Amy Broyles had surgery on Friday. She called afterward to tell me it was successful and she is now back at home.

In an email to folks, she said:

I'm home! The surgery went very, very well, but I had a rough night a tough morning today. They let me come home after lunch, and it feels so much better to be in my own bed!. Thanks for all the love, light, blessings, prayers and energy sent to us - I know it all made and continues to make a difference.

I am tremendously grateful to have so many awesome, compassionate, loving friends!!

Broyles said she will take it easy for the next couple of weeks, but does hope to attend April's commission work session and voting meetings.

Friday, March 28, 2014

Apparently, the Knox County Sheriff’s Office is eliminating
face-to-face inmate visits. Instead the will officer video telecommunications
conferencing, much like Skype, I suppose.

Folks say this is the wave of the future, and I’m inclined
to agree. It will help cut back on the amount of contraband brought into the
jail, and it will generate revenue for the department.

However, it’s going to increase costs for inmates, and they
don’t exactly have a lot of coin anyway. That will be a major drawback to the proposal.

Anyhoo, here’s the deal. The county signed a contract in
September 2008 with Pay Tel Communications, Inc. to provide an inmate phone
system for visitation purposes.

The option for video was there but it wasn’t very proven at
the time. As the years progressed the sheriff’s department decided to migrate
to it.

In October 2012, the county added an addendum to the Pay Tel
contract, but it took awhile to get the system up and running because they
needed to do some wiring, etc., and get everything to interface.

Under the new contract, the county vendor can charge 50
cents for each ingoing and outgoing email.

The vendor can also charge $5.99 for
each 15 minutes remote video visitation session.

Further, the county allowed vendor to increase the transaction
fees from $2.50 to $4.95, so that’s what it starts out. That means, the first
15 minutes actually costs $11. Heck, what’s minimum wage for an hour’s work in
Tennessee? Like $7? Wow.

(The average inmate stay by the way is 18 days.)

The county gets 43.75 percent of all revenue the system
generates, which – in 2013 – was $259,959 – and that’s just the county’s cut.

The company is required to supply and maintain all the
equipment. It’s also required to install up to 45 day-room kiosks.

The contract expires at the end of 2014, and has one more
three-year extension.

Officials in September will determine whether to extend the
contract or re-bid it.

On a side note, the video system has some sort of facial recognition. So, if someone decides to, er, expose themselves, well, the inmate won't be able to see anything. Heh.

Thursday, March 27, 2014

Back in December, when Jim McIntyre asked three school board members to risk their political careers with elections so close by agreeing to extend his school contract during a Board of Education meeting, many in the community wondered why Knoxville Police Chief David Rausch spoke in favor of the Sensitive Superintendent's request.

It was unusual, folks said, because city leaders tend to stay out of county and school politics. Folks also wondered if his boss, Knoxville Mayor Madeline Rogero, was behind it. Rogero, though, is smarter than that. She's not going to take a side - when she doesn't have to - on something that divisive. Especially when she's got her own election to contend with in a few years.

In addition, sources tell me that Knox County Mayor Tim "Cheapskate" Burchett was none too happy because it affects how he has to fund a budget. He also doesn't exactly see eye-to-eye with Jim, either.

So, Rogero cleared it up today over at the hippie's site (right smack here) where the commentators were talking about another political race, this one for the sheriff's seat.

Here's what she wrote:

Hey folks, I want to clarify that I have not taken a position on
the school superintendent / board / teachers issues. Had I known ahead
of time, I would have advised Chief Rausch not to speak at the board
meeting. We have since had that discussion and he now realizes that he
inadvertently stepped into a situation in which I and my administration
will remain neutral. He intended only to show appreciation for the
cooperative relationship that KPD has with the school system and
superintendent.

As Knoxville mayor, I work closely and effectively with the
superintendent and school board. I also have a close and effective
working relationship with State Representative Gloria Johnson and have
been a supporter of our teachers for a very long time. As city mayor, I
have plenty of my own responsibilities and respectfully defer to the
teachers, superintendent, and school board to determine what’s best for
our students and school teachers.

Knox County Commissioner Amy Broyles will have surgery on Friday at UT Medical Center, according to a release from the commission office. She expects to be home by Monday, and will then "be keeping a light schedule during the month of April."

She notes in the release that her constituents can still reach her by phone and email.

"There are a couple of fairly routine procedures to help keep some chronic health issues in check," she said in the release. "I appreciate everyone's positive thoughts for me and kindness towards my family during these times."

I've talked to her about the matter and it's partially related to past surgeries, but I don't want to get into it as they've already been made public and I'll let her discuss them if she wants.

Knox County will close its Forks of the River Convenience
Center, located in the eastern part of the county, on April 30, according to
Solid Waste Director Tom Salter.

The county will move equipment from the center to the John
Sevier Center in the next two weeks, and will “likely stop taking metal, tires
and auto fluids” at that time.

The county maintains eight centers and the state requires it
to have at least three, according to Salter.

The Forks of the River center is apparently the lowest
performing convenience center in terms of vehicle traffic and weight collected,
he added. The other two low performing centers are in the Carter and Karns
communities, although the Forks center handles half the weight of those.

Officials said they will upgrade the John Sevier Center to
help with the impact from closing the Forks operation.

Here’s some background on the Forks center, provided by
Salter:

It was originally constructed as a temporary site to handle
traffic during the construction of the John Sevier Center.

The Forks of the River Convenience Center takes up 1.8
acres (14%) of a 13.1 acre site. 86% of the site was not being used for
any mission-related activity and the property is not on the tax rolls.

Later, the County used the portion of the site not
used as a Convenience Center as 1) a waste tire collection site, 2) the site
for the County’s yard waste contractor and 3) as storage for unused
equipment. One of the ongoing concerns has been that 11.3 acres of prime
industrial park land was underutilized, especially after closure of the yard waste
facility. Sale of the land would allow it to return to a higher and
better use and return it to the tax rolls. The possibility of selling
just the unused portion of the site was explored, but the Convenience Center is
in the center of the site and essentially splits the land into two sections, making
it impractical for a buyer to properly utilized the whole site.

Meant to mention this earlier, but WBIR 10 News won "Best Political Coverage" Saturday night at the Tennessee Associated Press Media Editors Awards ceremony in Nashville for our coverage of the "wrongful arrests."

You can find many of the stories over to the right under "recent articles of interest."

In addition, we placed second in the "Freedom of Information" category. WBIR also netted some other honors, including Outstanding News Operation, Best TV Newscast, Best Short Light Feature, Best TV News Videographer, Best Website and Best Public Affairs.

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Knox County is looking into opening a chronic care clinic for its
employees, a move officials say will lead to a more healthy and
productive workforce and save the taxpayers money on insurance coverage.

Officials
still want to talk more about the plan, but the county could begin the
bidding process within the next month or so, and have the operation up
and running by the end of the year. Officials say they want the center
to offer "motivational face-to-face coaching," workers' compensation
health services and lab screenings, among other services.

The
clinic, which would include an on-site medication program, would be
available to roughly 4,700 employees, spouses and their children. The
plan would be to build a center or open one at an existing site and then
have a third-party provide the services.

You can read the entire story and catch our television report right here.

Monday, March 24, 2014

Knox County Law Director Richard “Bud” Armstrong was
released from the hospital this afternoon and is at home recovering from a
motorcycle accident.

Armstrong told WBIR 10News today that he was at a friend’s
house test driving a motorcycle. He said he didn’t get very far before he
spilled over after the back tire slipped hit the edge of the driveway, and “the
wheels and I were parallel to the driveway.”

He said he landed on his knee and fractured the tibia in his
left leg. The accident happened at about 6:20 p.m. Friday, and he had surgery that
required screws placed in his lower leg on Saturday at the University of
Tennessee Medical Center

Armstrong said he isn’t supposed to put a lot of weight on
his foot, so he will do much of his work from his home office.

“I assure you this – I will be doing the job,” he said,
adding that he will attend “critical” meetings, including office budget discussions,
and talk daily with Chief Deputy Law Director David Buuck.

Armstrong said he will maintain that schedule until April 7
when he sees his physician again.

The Historic Tennessee Theatre Foundation has appointed Becky Hancock as the permanent executive director. She has served
in the role in an interim capacity since November.

As executive director of the foundation, Hancock will manage all aspects of
annual fundraising and community outreach programs, including the Mighty
Musical Monday organ concerts, First Friday Open House events, and the Youth
Arts Alliance program for underprivileged schoolchildren. She will also work
closely with the board of directors to oversee the management of the theatre,
that presents more than 50 touring events each year, and to promote the
non-profit mission of the foundation in the community.

The Historic Tennessee Theatre Foundation is a nonprofit organization created in 1996. A board of directors was formed
and charged with preserving the historic building for generations to come as a
community asset and center for arts and culture in Knoxville. Fulfilling this
mission, the Tennessee Theatre is home to the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra and
Knoxville Opera, and it is frequently rented by other local organizations.

Hancock previously served as general manager of the Tennessee Theatre from 2001 to 2007 and was part of a team that oversaw
the comprehensive restoration project completed at the theater in 2005. After
leaving in 2007, Hancock served as assistant director of the historic
preservation advocacy group, Knox Heritage, focusing largely on fund
development, marketing and special events.

Knox County Administrator of Elections Clifford Rodgers is seeking more money for
his Election Day workers.

“We
only get 1 percent of the budget, and what we do and what is expected of us –
with very little room for error – we don’t get a lot of Knox County’s budget,”
he told the Knox County Commission during its monthly luncheon on Monday. “At
some point we need to treat the other Knox County citizens – and that’s who is
working these polls – fairly.”

His office currently pays poll workers $125 to work on
Election Day, and officers, who oversee the precincts, get $150 per day. In
addition, those who drive the ballot information and voting results to the main
downtown office receive another $10.

Rodgers said he will uses 75 officers and 450 workers to
staff the 75 precincts for the May primaries.

Each precinct, he said, needs
three poll workers and one officer.

He wants to bump officer pay to $175 to $180 a day and bump
pay for the poll workers to $135.

Commissioners on Monday appeared ready to give him the extra
money, but want to talk more about it. If approved, it would cost a combined
$13,500 to cover everyone.

Rodgers said that poll workers in Sullivan County earn $140 and
officers get $170.

In Davidson County, workers get $120 and officers get $220.

In Hamilton County, workers get $100 and officers get $160.

The poll workers show up only for Election Day, but the
officers need to oversee the prep work the day before the county holds
elections. That means picking up supplies, making sure everyone will be where
they need to be and working with the custodians to open the buildings on time.

They are not paid for that work.

On Election Day, the employees work 15 to 16 hours and kick
off the day around 7 a.m., Rodgers said.

“I’ve been here three years, and I’m not sure how long we’ve
been paying the amount we pay, but no one in the office can remember otherwise,”
Rodgers said. “I at least owed it to my people to come down and ask (for the raises).”

Over the weekend, Knox County Law Director Richard "Bud" Armstrong broke his lower leg in a motorcycle accident. Apparently, he was going to buy a Harley from a friend and was test riding it when he fell or lost control as he was leaving the driveway.

I'm told that he will need some pins in his leg and should be released from the UT medical center some time today. In the meantime - other than that - he's doing well. So that's good.

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Here’s a little bit of inside baseball that was partially discussed in
public last night, but didn’t really make the main story, which you can find
right smack here.

Anyhoo, the Knox County Commission during its Monday work session agreed to
audit the school system’s Physical Plan Upgrades account, something that a
number of commissioners say is nothing more than a "slush fund."

The move was actually spearheaded by Commissioner Jeff Ownby, who had to
wait roughly 17 days for the school system to compile an open records request
that he submitted regarding the account.

During Monday’s meeting, Superintendent Jim McIntyre took exception to the “salacious”
allegations that the account was a slush fund and noted that “this is the first
time I’ve head of some of the complaints.”

He also said if Ownby had a problem or question, then he should have called.

Well, Ownby isn’t too happy that the superintendent claims he wasn’t exactly
kept in the loop. So, he sent me over some emails, detailing the records
request.

Now, you’ll note, according to these emails, that Ownby on Feb. 24 asked for the records connected to
three years’ worth of spending tied to the PPU account. He submitted the request to schools finance
director Rob McPherson.

Superintendent McIntyre

On Feb. 28, McPherson replied back to Ownby, noting that they were “coordinating”
and “segregating” and doing all sorts of stuff to get him that information.
Note, that McIntyre is copied on this email.

Ownby says McIntyre was well aware of what was going on.

Now, here’s where it gets ridiculous, and this is where the commissioner got upset.

Ownby didn’t receive his records until March 12 or 13. And, man, if you’ve seen
what the school system gave him, you’d cry. Or laugh. Ownby called them “barely
legible.” He’s being nice.

If you can read them, you probably won’t be able to find any information
about Northshore Elementary School. I’m told – and I’m not risking my eyesight
to find out – that Northshore isn’t on there. Funny. That’s the info Ownby truly
wanted.

So, I hear about all this, and kind of chuckle. Because, on Friday, March 14, I asked
the county’s finance department for the exact same information, except I asked
for it going back eight years – not just three. Do you know how long it took
the county’s finance people to compile it?

Less than an hour.

I kid you not. They sent me over more than 400 pages of records, which
included information on Northshore, and you can actually read them.

The Knox County Commission will ask auditors to
investigate Knox County Schools' more than $15 million so-called “slush fund.” Some
say the school system dips into the Physical Plant Upgrades account whenever a
project goes over budget and they want to conceal the true costs.

Also, there’s a web extra video that runs about 6:45
minutes, which you can find about mid-way through the online story. It's a classic Superintendent Jim McIntyre interview in
which he answers nothing, and accepts no blame or responsibility for anything. You should check it out.

Some things to note from the extra:

1:25 minute mark: McIntyre, a former finance
director for the Boston School books, reverts back to that whole “safe,
healthy, learning environment” motto. Heh. Really, his three public relations private advisers
need to give him some new material.

1:40 minute mark: He pretty much blames the (alleged)
bad accounting on the “county,” meaning the county’s finance people – not the
school finance people. Er, no.

2:00 minute mark: Reiterates how his people work
with the county finance department – “and it’s not just Knox County schools.” Er,
no.

2:15 minute mark: I ask if “land acquisition” payments
should come from the Physical Plant Upgrade account and he again talks about
how “the county accounts for those dollars.” Er, no. It’s how the school system
accounts for those dollars.

3:23 minute mark: You hear me say “this is a school
thing,” meaning why are you blaming the county.

4:00 minute mark: Now suggests that if there are any problems then they are tied
to the “accounting system” that the county and the school system use.

6:08 minute mark: McIntyre talks about how the
system should have separate accounts for different projects (i.e. security,
stadium upgrades, etc.) and how that “would make sense.” Well, on paper, they
do, according to the budget that was approved by the county commission and
school board. The problem is, they’re all getting paid out of the Physical
Plant Upgrades account.

6:20 minute mark: Now it’s all on the school board
and the county, and those boards set the policy. Uh, no. The boards do not
currently micro-manage at that level (although maybe they will start). In fact,
McIntyre over the years has repeatedly reminded the County Commission – and rightly so – that once its members allocate the money, they cannot tell the school system how to spend it.

Look, I don't know why there's all this chucking and ducking. I’ve read through a lot of these records, and
it doesn’t look like the school system is out buying Ferraris or illegally spending the money. They’re getting
things they need. The problem rests in the accounting and in accountability.

The School System talks a big game about its
transparency, but few in the public actually buy it. And these kinds of problems
don’t help their argument.

In the meantime, the Knox County Commission next
Monday will officially sign off on the proposal to audit the Physical Plant Upgrades account. The county’s
internal auditor, Andrea Williams, will conduct it.

Williams, a former compliance advisory support senior
manager with the Tennessee Valley Authority, recently took over the department,
and this will be her first major challenge.

Yesterday, retired U.S. Army Four-Star General and former Commander in Chief, U.S. Special
Operations Command, Carl Stiner, announced his support and endorsement of Billy Stokes for Circuit Court Judge, Division I in the May 6
Knox County Republican primary, according to a news release the campaign sent over.

This is actually a big deal. Not every day a prominent general endorses a candidate in a local election.

Anyhoo, the release notes that during his 35 year career Stiner commanded the Army’s preeminent contingency strike forces;
including the Joint Special Operations Command, the 82d Airborne Division and
the XVIII Airborne Corps. General Stiner has an extensive background in special
operations. His service includes involvement in operations to capture
terrorists in the Achille Lauro hijacking, the Panama invasion and the capture
of Manuel Noriega, as well as special operations activities during Operation
Desert Storm. He also contributed to the Tom Clancy book entitled, “Shadow
Warriors: Inside the Special Forces.”

You can read the entire release, which
includes a statement by Stiner, right here.

Stokes faces local attorneys Ray Jenkins and Kristi Davis in the May Republican Primary. No Democrats are seeking the seat.

Friday, March 14, 2014

For more than a year the Paywall Paper has been locked in battle with the county's Law Department in an effort to get a hold of some emails. The county argued that they were private and shouldn't be turned over. The paper said they were public.

They went back and forth, then eventually went to court and - as I recall - a judge said the county needed to turn over 9 of the 13 emails that the paper sought.

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Knox County Sheriff candidate Bobby Waggoner issued a release today that
said “at any given time, there are fewer than 30 officers on patrol in Knox
County.”

Sheriff Jimmy “J.J.” Jones, called it “a lie,” adding that “it shows just
how out of touch he is.”

“You’re not supposed to get desperate until the end of the campaign,” Jones
said.

Waggoner, Jones and Charles “Sam” Hammett Jr. will square off in the May
Republican primary. There are no Democratic candidates.

Waggoner, a retired chief of detectives with the KCSO, in his release said
the department “is still working from a patrol map that’s more than two decades
old.” He said the department’s patrol division consists of five shifts that cover
a 24-hour period, and that 28 officers are assigned to each shift. He said of
those officers, as many as five “can be off on vacation or personal leave” or
in training, etc.

So, I asked the sheriff about this and he said it’s hogwash. He said the
office uses “calls for service statistics” to determine how many patrol cars
and officers should be available. He said that during a period from 12:30 a.m.
to 5:30 a.m. “there’s a possibility” that there are 30 officers on patrol, “but
any other time there’s 100 to 125 patrol officers, patrolling the
neighborhoods.”

He said stats show that during the early morning hours calls for services
and accidents drop, so not as many officers are needed. (I guess most people
are asleep.)

Jones also said that the department also has 70 detectives and more than 40
folks on the radio, so if something goes wrong, he’s got an army on hand to
take care of business.

He added that if Waggoner, who joined the department in 2001, was so concerned
about patrol numbers then he should have approached him when he was an
employee.

The Knox County chancellor for the Part II post officially unveiled his campaign website www.darylfansler.com today.

“We are very pleased to announce the launch of darylfansler.com
so that the voters of Knox County are given the ability to sign up for campaign
updates, volunteer, contribute, or just to learn about how Daryl Fansler has
served the people and legal community for over two decades," said Tim Priest, Treasurer for the Committee to
Re-Elect, in a released statement.

Chancellor Fansler began practicing law at Bond, Carpenter, & O'Connor before co-founding what is now Stokes,
Williams, Sharp and Davies in 1989.

He was elected as Knox County Chancellor,
Part II, Sixth Judicial District, State of Tennessee in 1998, and subsequently
re-elected in 2006, the news release states.

He is a member of the Tennessee Judicial Conference where he has served one term as secretary and several terms on the Executive Committee. He
is the past President of the Tennessee Trial Judges Association, as well as a
member of the American Bar Association, Judicial Division, and the National
Conference of State Trial Courts, where he served as a delegate from 2008-2010.

Chancellor Fansler is married to his wife Phyllis, and a proud
father and grandfather to three children and five grandchildren.

Fansler, a Democrat, will take on Clarence Pridemore, a Republican, in the August general election. Neither has an opponent in the May primaries.

Well, here’s some good news. At this point it looks like contributions for
the upcoming fiscal year, which kicks off July 1, will be down for the county’s
three pension plans, according to county Finance Director Chris “Money Bags”
Caldwell.

Here’s how it’s looking:

Last year (technically in this current budget), the county contributed $3
million for what’s dubbed the “old county” or “DB” plan, which closed in 1991. This
year, the county is expected to contribute between $2.7 million and $2.9
million.

The county also last year kicked in $1.7 million for the old school plan,
which it assumed from the city and closed in the late 1980s. This year, it will
put up between $1.3 million and $1.5 million.

The county contributed $4.5 million into the Uniformed Officer’s Pension
Plan, or UOPP, which closed to new employees at the beginning of this year.
(The $4.5 million does not include bond payments, which were needed to get the
plan up and running.)

This year, the county is expected to contribute between $3.7 million and
$3.9 million.

That means the overall savings for the two plans could range between
$900,000 and $1.5 million.

Caldwell said the decrease comes as the county’s investments exceed their
expected interest rates for calendar year 2013. The county’s expected rate of
return on its investments is 7 percent, which is pretty reasonable and fairly
conservative compared to the rest of the nation.

Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett needs an additional $19 million to
cover everything the executive branch department heads and other elected
leaders have so far requested in his proposed upcoming budget.

And
that doesn't include any money the school system needs to close a $9
million gap in order to maintain its current level of services.

The mayor, however, says "he doesn't see it happening."

"The
title of this budget is 'There will be no government growth,'" Burchett
said. "We want to maintain the level of funding we have for things that
are important . . . and I'm not looking to cut departments, but I'm not
looking to increasing them, either."

Burchett will publicly unveil what he called a "tight" budget on May 1.

Tuesday, March 11, 2014

So, uh, how ‘bout those “smart spending” recommendations the Parthenon Group
made last night to the Knox County School System????

Heh. Hahahahahaha. Consultants.

Now, I’m not going to get into it. I mean for the most part, the suggestions don’t
appear to be too popular with the community (as of right now anyway), so that means you should probably expect
the school board to sign off on them sometime after the August elections
(provided there’s enough votes by then).

So, the county’s external auditor
Pugh & Company since then have conducted a number of fraud interviews with
office employees and checked spending accounts for any unusual activity.

Well, so far so good.

Larry Elmore, vice president of
Pugh & Co., said during today’s Audit Committee that his folks checked into
a number of issues during the final quarter of last year (ending in December)
and the results came back “clean.”

Elmore said his operation randomly picked 25 people in the
40-member office and studied their payroll checks, time cards and key card
entries into the building. They also met with employees in the Halls, Cedar
Bluff and Death Star offices, to ask about potential suspicions of fraud.

That, too, came back clean.

Elmore said they’ll continue looking into the department
quarterly through June (that means there should be two more reports), which is
when the bond coverage for Leuthold expires.

At that point, it’s not known whether they company will
charge $8,000 to $9,000, which is what it typically cost to bond someone, or if
they’ll continue to gouge the county. Heh.

For his part, Leuthold, who wasn’t trustee when all sorts of
suspected wrongdoings were going on, said: “We all understand the issues that
have happened in the past. And we’re trying to. . .build the trust every day. We
come in and we’re going to do everything right today . . . and if for now we
need someone to verify that, then that’s what we’ll do.”

So, on Feb. 24 we broke the story that the Knox County
Criminal Court Clerk’s Office was pretty much breaking the law by not turning
over some key information to the TBI regarding meth-related convictions and
offenders.

(The names would then be placed on the meth offender registry. Once
on there, you can’t buy pseudoephedrine, meth’s main ingredient for seven
years.)

Well, after we did the story, 42 names were magically sent
over to the state. But, as is typically with some of the info coming out of the
criminal court clerk’s office, it wasn’t complete. In the end, the TBI added 15
of the 42 names to the registry. That means there’s still more than 100 folks
who were convicted and should be on the registry but are not.

Phase II calls for a $13 million redesign of Cumberland Avenue from 22nd
Street to 16th Street and includes a lot of the same as the first
phase, plus some fancy landscaping, additional turn lanes and some new medians.

Looks like the city is taking a more proactive stance regarding temporary
road closures, ‘cause, you know, no one had a clue a couple weeks ago when a
downtown crane shut down Gay Street for pretty much the entire Saturday.

All of them, I’m told, worked for free, which is a good thing, considering
taxpayers are already on the hook for a more than $900,000 communications
department for the Knox County Schools Systems. (This also isn't the first time the three have met with McIntyre and given him advice by the way.)

Cohen

The speech was actually written by McIntyre, and from what I understand the
trio made no major changes, although one member told him to hammer more on one
particularly part, which I have now forgotten. Sorry.

The plan, in part, behind McIntyre’s speech, which included a number of
references to his family, his parents and grandparents and featured photos on
the screen behind him, was to better “humanize” the superintendent.

He often comes across, a number of people told me, as “cold and uncaring”
and the goal was to change that. (Note: No one actually said he was cold and
uncaring, but rather that’s how he comes across.)

The address, his third since he came to Knoxville via Boston, Mass. In 2008,
is technically designed to serve as a report card for the district.

Ackermann (photo taken from her site)

This one, however, comes after teachers, students and parents have publicly
berated the school board and the superintendent for what they say feel are
unfair testing and evaluation measures.

McIntyre wanted a more personal feel to the address. But, he also wanted some “experts”
to view it, especially after his disasterous “happy holiday’s” video in which
he reminded everyone about how the school board extended his $223,000-a-year contract
another 12 months, and then wished everyone a Merry Christmas. I kid you not. You can findthe video right smack here.

(Now, I don’t fault the superintendent for seeking a second opinion, despite
paying a couple of his PR folks more than $90,000 a year each. I just
question why he didn’t have them watch that holiday video. Heh.)

Anyhoo, I digress.

Williams

I’m told that the attempt to make him more personable didn’t really work.
The people in attendance already support him, so he didn’t need to impress
them. And the people who don’t support him? Well, there is just nothing you can
do to change their minds.

Instead, McIntyre should have taken the state of the schools address on the
road, much like Knox County Mayor Tim Burchett does when he delivers his annual
budget presentation. Burchett goes into the community, meets with smaller
crowds and answers questions.

He does this without all the carefully, crafted spin.

Now, I don’t know if it would have helped the superintendent, but it would
have certainly been something different for a change.

Monday, March 3, 2014

Knox County School Board candidate Amber Rountree, who is running for the Dist. 9 seat, will hold her campaign kickoff and first fundraiser tomorrow at The Roundup from 5:30-7:30 p.m.

She said "everyone is invited to hangout, have a good time, ask questions and enjoy dinner."

The Roundup is located at 3643 Sevierville Pike. Dinner will be available for a donation,and more information will be posted on the website. For more information and details about Amber's campaign and platform click right smack here.

the glass is usually half empty

My name is Mike Donila and I'm a reporter with WBIR in Knoxville, TN. I cover government. All politics is local, and mostly ridiculous. Travis Fain of Lucid Idiocy said that. He's a smart guy. This is my blog. The content ranges.